Unknown known
Encyclopedia
Unknown knowns are the things that we know, but are unaware of knowing. The coining of the term is attributed to Slovenian Philosopher Slavoj Žižek
and it refers to the unconscious beliefs and prejudices that determine how we perceive reality
and intervene in it. It is the Freudian unconscious, the “knowledge which doesn’t know itself,” as Lacan
used to say.
's statement at a press briefing given by on February 12, 2002:
Žižek argues that if Rumsfeld thinks that the main dangers in the confrontation with Iraq were the "unknown unknowns," that is, the threats from Saddam whose nature we cannot even suspect, then the Abu Ghraib scandal shows that the main dangers lie in the "unknown knowns" - the disavowed beliefs, suppositions and obscene practices we pretend not to know about, even though they form the background of our public values.
In another article Žižek gives another example for the "unknown knowns" this time it regards a mysterious disease that has been wiping out honeybees in the US and Europe. He says:
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
and it refers to the unconscious beliefs and prejudices that determine how we perceive reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
and intervene in it. It is the Freudian unconscious, the “knowledge which doesn’t know itself,” as Lacan
Lacan
Lacan is surname of:* Jacques Lacan , French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist** The Seminars of Jacques Lacan** From Bakunin to Lacan: Anti-Authoritarianism and the Dislocation of Power, a book on political philosophy by Saul Newman** Lacan at the Scene* Judith Miller, née Lacan...
used to say.
Uses
Žižek first used the term as a response to former US Defense Secretary Donald RumsfeldDonald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
's statement at a press briefing given by on February 12, 2002:
Žižek argues that if Rumsfeld thinks that the main dangers in the confrontation with Iraq were the "unknown unknowns," that is, the threats from Saddam whose nature we cannot even suspect, then the Abu Ghraib scandal shows that the main dangers lie in the "unknown knowns" - the disavowed beliefs, suppositions and obscene practices we pretend not to know about, even though they form the background of our public values.
In another article Žižek gives another example for the "unknown knowns" this time it regards a mysterious disease that has been wiping out honeybees in the US and Europe. He says: